REVIEW AN ARTICLE ABOUT SEMANTICS

Review article about semantics

Reviewed by Dewi Suriany

Title       : Semantics and Theories of Semantics

Post by : Abbas Bukhari at Academia.Edu

Pages    : 14

The article give us the material about semantics, such as :

Semantics

Semantics is the study of meaning in language. The sound patterns of language are studied at the level of phonology and the organization of words and sentences is studied at the level of morphology and syntax. Semantics is that level of linguistic analysis where meaning is analyzed. It is the most abstract level of linguistics, since we cannot see or observe meaning as we can observe and record sounds.  Semantics concerns itself with ‘giving a systematic account of the nature of meaning’ (Leech). The problem of ‘meaning’ is quite difficult; it is because of its toughness that some linguists went on to the extent of excluding semantics from linguistics. A well-known structuralist made the astonishing statement that ‘linguistic system of a language does not include the semantics. The system is abstract, it is a signaling system, and as soon as we study semantics we are no longer studying language but the semantic system associated with language. The structralists were of the opinion that it is only the form of language which can be studied, and not the abstract functions. Both these are misconceptions. Recently a serious interest has been taken in the various problems of semantics. And semantics is being studied not only by the linguists but also by philosophers, psychologists, scientists, anthropologists and sociologists. so, how many meaning will we learn in semantics ? To answer this question,  the researcher uses library research method. 

Taking up some of the above definitions of meaning, we can discuss the different aspects of meaning o a word as follows:

(i)                 The logical or  denotative meaning. This is the literal meaning of a word indicating the idea or concept to which it refers. concept is a minimal unit of meaning which could be called a ‘sememe’ in the same way as the unit of sound is called a ‘phoneme’ and is like the ‘morpheme h Is structure and organisation.

(ii)               The  connotative meaning. This is the additional meaning that a concept carries.

(iii)             The  social meaning: This is the meaning that a word or a phrase conveys about the circumstances of its use. That is, the meaning of a word is understood according to the different style and situation in which the word belongs to a particular situation of use ‘democilie’ is used in an official context, ‘residence’ in formal context, ‘abode’ is a poetic use and ‘home’ is an ordinary use.

(iv)              The  thematic meaning: This is the meaning which is communicated by

the way in which a speaker or writer organises the message in terms of ordering, focus  and  emphasis. It is  often  felt,  for example,  that an  active sentence  has  a different meaning from  its  passive equivalent although  its conceptual meaning seems to be the same.

Some Terms and  Distinctions in Semantics

(a) Lexical and  grammatical meaning

Lexical or word meaning is the meaning of individual lexical items.

(b) Sense and  Reference

It has been explained earlier that signs refer to concepts as well as to other signs.

(c) Sentence-meaning and  Utterance-meaning

A distinction may be drawn between, sentence-meaning and utterance-meaning.

(d) Entailment and  Presupposition

One sentence may entail other sentence—that is, include the meaning of other sentence in its meaning, just as hyponymy includes the meaning of other word.

Theories of semantics

a) Traditional Approach:

We have noted earlier that meaning was always a central concern with thinkers.

b) Analytical/Referential Approach:

Between the symbol and the object/thing there is an intervening phenomenon which is recognized as ‘the mediation of concepts of the mind’.

(c) Functional Approach

In  the year  1953  L.  Wittgenstein’s  work Philosophical Investigation  was  published. Around this time Malinowski and J.R. Firth were working to formulate the ‘operational character of scientific concepts like ‘length’, ‘time’ or ‘energy’; they tried to grasp the meaning of a word by observing the uses to which it is put instead of what is said about it.

(d) Field Theory of Meaning:

Basic to this theory is the concept that each word in a language is surrounded by a network of associations that connect it with other terms. Many of these associations are embodied in figurative language: metaphors, similes, proverbs, idioms, and the link.

Below we discuss five such major sense-relationships.

1.      Hyponymy

2.      Synonymy

3.      Antonymy

4.      Polysemy

5.      Homonymy

  

Strengthen of this article is :

Explain each sentences more clearly and easy to understand about all of meaning’s aspects in semantic.

Weakness of this article is :

There are so many examples.

Conclusion :

the researcher is really nice to compile all the datas in this article, there is essential correspondence between the sound of word and their meaning. However, this article also has the weakness which is contain so many examples to be understood.

you can read the original file here: 

 https://www.academia.edu/11703317/Semantics_and_Theories_of_Semantics